Thunderstorm
by Kuruk
Summary: Misplaced blame makes the twelve-year-old Tim hate his nurse, Elli. A thunderstorm, however, sets the two on a path that leads to love.


_Hey guys._

_Well, it's two in the morning and I've been thinking about what to write tonight since ten since I had the urge to write something cute and fluffy... my only problem was what to write about. After browsing through videos on YouTube, listening to some music and thinking about Mineral Town canon pairings, I got an id__ea._

_The result is this fluffy little Elli/Tim here which takes place a decade-- give or take a few years, before FoMT and MFoMT even start._

_Disclaimer: Don't own Harvest Moon._

_Hope you like!_

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_**Thunderstorm**_

Tim found thunderstorms absolutely fascinating.

Back when he was a kid, he would stay up all night and look out of his bedroom window as long, zig-zag flashes of light cut through the darkness and the misty fuzziness the falling rain, illuminating the world or just a few short seconds.

Soon to be accompanied by a majestic roar.

It was late... or early, depending on how you phrase it. Still, storms had always captivated Tim, and even though he wasn't a kid anymore; had responsibilities now that his mother was gone from the world and his father traveling the world for carefree enjoyment, Tim enjoyed the giddy, sleepless feeling he got as he stared out at the storm.

Well, he was, after all, twelve.

The young Tim had been left in charge of the Clinic when his aforementioned father decided that it would be fun to run off, abandon his son, the Clinic, the _town_ and go Goddess knew where... so it was only logical that his son take charge of the local Clinic.

Well, maybe it was a bit unconventional to leave a prepubescent boy in charge of the only medical facility in town, but then again, Tim wasn't an ordinary twelve year old prepubescent.

When his father had been around and his mother among the living, they had drilled knowledge into their young son's brain, intending that their child become a doctor, just like the two of them. Because of all the studying, the young boy had the knowledge of any medical doctor.

And, probably because of this, Tim Trent was an old soul. Serious and hardworking, all work and no play... everything came before his own enjoyment.

So... it was explainable that on that dark, stormy night, even though Tim didn't particularly like her, he granted her that one favor... no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

When the short, gentle yet almost frantic knocking came on his door, the young boy jumped, his heart almost escaping his chest. Putting a pale hand on his chest to calm himself, Tim breathed in deeply, thinking how strange it was that he found comfort in a fierce storm, yet was startled by such gentle knocking.

Clearing his throat and running his sweaty palms on his plaid pajamas, Tim pushed the sheets off his body and wandered towards the door, still nervous. "Y-yes...?" he called as his hand reached for the handle. He twisted it and pulled on the door, coming face to face with his nurse.

Well, nurse-in-training...

Eleven year old Elli Brown looked up at Tim with big chocolate eyes that radiated fear and anxiety. Her hands were wrought in front of her, fingers twitching against her porcelain skin nervously. She looked at Tim pleadingly.

The boy frowned.

The brown-haired girl sighed and looked down at her bare feet... hands now toying with the buttons of her pink nightshirt. Seriously, Tim thought, eying Elli's sleepwear in distaste-- pink nightshirt and matching pants, couldn't she grow up already?

Tim didn't particularly care for Elli. He knew it was irrational, but the twelve year old always found himself resenting his nurse-in-training's presence, no matter how warm and kind she may be.

Elli too was a victim of abandonment. Not quite as totally as Tim, but enough to discourage any child. The eleven year old girl had been left by her mother with her ailing grandmother and an infant brother to care for, and for reasons Tim didn't understand or even want to comprehend, she had decided to help him with the Clinic.

The fact that her mother was his father's nurse probably had something to do with it, though.

But the fact that her mother was the very same nurse that his father had run away with was the fact that soured Elli to Tim.

Tim sighed this time, and running a hand through is midnight hair, he spoke loudly enough to be heard over the sound of the rain prattling on the roof. "Is there something wrong, Elli?" Tim asked plainly, no hint of emotion in his voice.

Elli muttered something so low that Tim couldn't hear her.

"What?" Tim asked, dark eyes boring into Elli's questioningly.

Elli's eyes met Tim's."W-well... D-Doctor... I-I was w-wondering i-,"

The roar of thunder crashed through the room, and with a terrified 'eep' the young nurse-in-training lunged at the older boy, who let out a yelp as the young girl's arms wrapped around his waist and subsequently sent him falling to the floor, banging his chin against the hardwood floor.

Tim let out a groan of pain and opening his eyes in the dim light, he found Elli's shadowed face looking down at his, a mortified expression on her face. "I-I'm sorry, Doctor..." Elli apologized, the red of her cheeks visible only faintly, "I-I... the thunder scares me..."

The boy looked at his colleague in surprise. Despite it all-- her abandonment, having to work in a Clinic, having to treat real sick people, being left with the responsibility of her sick grandmother and infant baby brother-- he hand never seen Elli so frightened, so vulnerable. The young girl had always projected an inner strength that Tim could not help but envy the nights he would cry in bed, cursing his father for leaving him this heavy burden.

Seeing Elli so raw almost made Tim lose it all-- his calm, his facade of professionalism and break down like a three year old.

Almost.

Elli spoke again, gently. "C-could I m-maybe... s-sleep in h-here w-with y-you...?"

Tim's eyes widened in shock.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Tim cleared his throat and spoke. "Elli, there is absolutely no reason why you would have to sleep here rather than in your own bed," he lectured sternly, "You should take this as an opportunity to overcome your phobia."

With those words Tim rose from the floor, rubbing his sore chin tenderly. He walked back to his bed and got under the covers. "It's late," he told her almost gently, "We have patients tomorrow. We need to get some sleep."

The silhouette of the girl was still there, and Tim suppressed an urge to repeat himself when Elli spoke, lowly and helplessly. "T-then... w-what d-d-do I do...?" she asked, the hopelessness in her voice sending a stab of guilt through the young doctor.

Tim sighed, suppressing the urge to give in. "Well, how did you deal with the thunder before?" he asked patiently, shifting a little under the covers so that he faced away from the girl.

Elli hesitated, and her reply was so low that Tim almost didn't hear it. "Mama would sing to me..."

Tim bit his lip and sighed, knowing what he was about to do was completely in disregard of his own needs, not to mention very unprofessional, but he did it anyway. "Which song?" he asked of her quietly.

Another pause. Perhaps of shock at his giving in?

"Hush Little Baby..." Elli whispered.

Tim nodded against his pillow, turned over and lifted the sheets, blushing for no reason. She was a girl for Goddess' sake. They were disgusting, he reminded himself. He would just have to stomach this. "Get in, then," Tim ordered shyly.

Elli complied, albeit hesitantly herself, and positioned herself so that she and Tim were not touching, but so that they could feel each other's warmth.

Tim knew that cooties weren't actually a real medical condition, but he was wishing that he had let Karen give him that cootie shot she had offered him the day before.

Turning over, the young doctor looked into the young, frighted and motherless girl's eyes and began to sing, his voice low and not very in tune, but full of something close to warmth and kindness in it.

Despite the roar of thunder, even though she shivered a little bit each time, she slowly drifted off into sleep. Before she did so her little hand grabbed onto Tim's, and the young boy marveled at how that small contact changed his perspective of his nurse.

At that moment, Tim felt a sudden comradeship with the younger girl. Instead of resenting her, he felt connected to her. They were, after all, not only partners in running the Clinic, but partners in the biting, heartbreaking pain of abandonment.

Smiling a little at the image of his nurse sleeping despite the loud cracks of thunder, Tim himself drifted off into peaceful sleep despite the fact that there was a cootie-infested girl in his bed and that he was so terribly alone with his burden.

Well, maybe he wasn't so alone...

_**N**e**x**_t M_o**r**_**n****_i_**_n_g...

Waking up and finding a warm body cuddled up to your back, your hands interlocked may be pleasant for some people... as for Tim, he had no idea what people saw in it.

Shifting uncomfortably after reminding himself about the events of the night before and the body in his bed was, indeed, Elli, he struggled with the decision to either wake her up or let her sleep.

Thankfully, she stirred.

Elli woke up and stiffened a bit in surprise where she was, but she relaxed when she too reminded herself of the night before. "Good morning, D-Doctor..." Elli muttered shyly.

Tim grunted in greeting and uncomfortably sat up and swung his feet over the side of his bed. On the other side, Elli followed suite.

How were two kids supposed to deal with such a thing...?

Easy, Tim realized later.

By ignoring it ever happened.

"I'll go make breakfast," Elli announced, giving Tim a kind smile and making to leave. Tim nodded and was about to begin dressing when he realized Elli was still standing at the doorway, a blush on her cheeks.

"Yes, Elli?" Tim asked, shifting from foot to foot anxiously.

"Thank you... Doctor," Elli said, a grateful smile on her face.

For no reason at all, despite himself, Tim found himself smiling back kindly, realizing that he didn't resent her anymore-- no, she was his friend now, oddly.

"Call me Tim," the young boy offered as a peace offering.

Elli smiled. "Alright..." she said brightly.

Tim's smile grew wider. "When we're not at work, that is."

Elli giggled and left for the kitchen, leaving Tim Trent officially much happier than he had been the night before... and all because of a little thunder.

And a kind, warm girl.

Blushing at the image of her face, Tim began to dress for work... unable to regain his professional composure until Elli spilled coffee on him at breakfast.

It was a new lab coat, too...

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_A/N: Yay. Fluffy canon!_

_I don't know why, but I had an urge to write an innocent, fluffy fic on Elli and Tim as kids, just after they had 'inherited' the Clinic. In case you're wondering, even though I didn't mention it in the actual story, Elli's dad died around the same time Tim's mom died._

_I do hope you enjoyed it! Please review, I love them as much as I love canon fluff! :D_

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End file.
